[Brown Eyed Staccie]

Hi. I hope that title gets some views. This actually happened to me yesterday...I was so tired that I came home from work and in a feeble attempt to NOT jump into my bed, I quickly put my sweats on and headed to the gym.

When I got to the gym and went to put my iPOD in my pocket, the pocket was missing. I couldn't figure out what was going on. Then I realized that my pants were inside out and on backwards. I remember thinking on the walk that my pants felt weird - but I thought I was just bloated.

I live downtown in a very trendy area...I am wearing big sunglasses and a hat for the next little while...although I am hoping that wearing your pants inside out may be a new fashion thing?

Anyway, I am searching for some ladies to join a thread that can relate to a busy career that seems to take up all their time.

I think that one of the reasons I work so hard is because I am so successful at work. I get recognition and respect that a I feel I don't get in my personal life because I am overweight. So I keep working like crazy to keep up that recognition. Why is it that I cannot choose "ME" over my career. Because my career defines me...at least that is how I feel.

I am single with no kids and no responsibilities - financial or otherwise. I am a relative outcast in my group of high school and college friends. Not so much in my job because there is lots of people completely obsessed by their career. In or organization with over a 1000 employees, there are maybe 10 that are overweight. I stick out like a sore thumb and very much aware of it.

Anyone out there want to share - experiencing this?

[JayEll]

Hey Staccie,

Yeah, I know that story myself! I used to work for a computer company in California, a place to which all the "overachievers" tended to gravitate.

I'm also someone who tends to define myself based on my performance--sort of a "human doing" instead of a "human being."

I'm self-employed now, and actually I gained quite a bit in the years after I left the tech company. Most of my work is done remotely--for companies with folks I rarely see, if ever. That unfortunately removes one incentive for losing weight, but for me that's not a big reason. For me it's about health and fitness.

As a business owner, it's very tempting for me to work hours and hours--and sometimes it has been necessary because my work is deadline-driven. But it isn't always necessary!

I realized back when I lost the major part of my weight that I really could fit in the time to get exercise. It was like magic--one day I didn't have the time, and the next day I had made the time. Nothing in my work suffered from this! Evidently I had some kind of illusion about how many hours I had to sit at my desk...

And I also found that I really could control and plan about what foods I ate--I was not at the mercy of anyone else.

So, welcome! Hope to chat with you some more.

Jay

[InthePINK]

I can relate to being an overachiever who is ridiculously busy all of the time. Fortunately, many of my friends are similar, so they get it, and we communicate through email and voice mail. My best friend, who is also my daughter's Godmother, and I have not seen each other since February. And, the really pitiful thing is that during that luncheon, we exchanged our Christmas gifts!

I have a tough time juggling motherhood, a career as a teacher, a second job teaching after school, choir rehearsal, water aerobics, cleaning my house, making time for friends, and paying attention to my husband. And, no, I do not have the summers off. Because of this ridiculous economy, I work all summer as well. I need to finish graduate school, but at the moment, I can't afford the tuition.

My wellness has definitely taken a back-seat resulting in tremendous weight gain. Fifteen years ago, I was a beautiful bride with a lovely figure. The death of my mother, infertility hormones, and pregnancy knocked me on my a$$. I had a hysterectomy in the fall, and that was the "icing on the cake" as far as my figure is concerned. The post-surgical bloating has made it impossible to fit in the majority of my wardrobe (especially my fitted professional wardrobe) and it is elastic waists all the way until all of the bloating goes away. My husband doesn't recognize the pretty girl he married, and frankly, neither do I.

I went to a wellness workshop for three days last week and it helped me to refocus on my priorities. I now have a list of affirmations and goals I review every day. I finally understand that I can't do EVERYTHING FOR EVERYBODY, and I must make my health a priority so that I can be successful in every area of my life.

Best of luck to you on your road to balance and wellness!

PINK

[shantroy]

My job requires me to travel a fair bit. I work for a company with 7 branch offices spread across Canada and I support our clients in all locations. Because of this I can spend up to 15 nights a month in hotels. I'm frequently not in the same city of 2 nights in a row. It make it impossible to maintain a routine. I spend all of my time during the day conducting trainings for clients then frequently work from home/the hotel in the evenings and weekends to build my training manuals and other custom documentations.

I too have no real financial responsibilities and no kids or husband, heck I don't even has so much as a houseplant to depend on me.

Well I've never put my pants on inside out or backwards, I have woken up in my own bed and looked around and had to check my blackberry to figure out what city I was in....